I Have a Golden Crow

Du Yu: ”...”

Lin Shiwei smiled and shook her head: ”Hehe~ After tricking me so dumbly, he even smiled and asked me if it was sweet.”

Du Yu looked at her with curiosity, as if picturing little Shiwei crying and complaining to her mom.

Lin Shiwei: ”I said it was super sweet, and that I’d eaten the whole sugar figurine.”

Du Yu: ”Huh?”

Well damn~ No wonder you need to go to a sanatorium, you really are ruthless!

Born stubborn, huh?

Lin Shiwei looked at Du Yu, her eyes smiling: ”I saved the sugar stick for Grandpa to taste. That night, Grandpa gave Uncle a good beating.”

Du Yu: ”...”

So this is what New Year’s at a rich family feels like?

Love it, love it! Two lifetimes and Du Yu has never spent such a lively holiday.

”Your uncle’s in the army, right?”

”You could tell?”

”What’s his unit?”

The two chatted idly as their vehicle left the fiery Maple Forest and headed straight for Xishu Courtyard.

When they neared Master Qing’s Residence, that light green silhouette seemed to have been waiting for quite some time already.

Lin Shiwei couldn’t help but step down harder on the gas, and the resulting brake was a bit harsh: ”Screech!”

The two hurried out of the car and greeted:

”Auntie.”

”Master Qing!”

Yang Qingqing looked at the two with a smile and spoke softly: ”You can change what you call me now.”

Du Yu: ”Eh?”

Lin Shiwei bowed politely, head lowered: ”Master Qing.”

The change in address didn’t mean a more distant relationship—on the contrary, it was a sign of Yang Qingqing’s recognition of Lin Shiwei.

Yang Qingqing shot Du Yu a playful glare, then walked down the steps: ”Let’s go, Demon Spirit Academy.”

Just from Master Qing’s light green dress, you could tell she wasn’t going out on a combat mission, but... Demon Spirit Academy?

Du Yu helped Master Qing open the car door, curiosity in his tone: ”Master Qing, what are we going to do?”

Yang Qingqing: ”Last day of the monthly exam. I want to see how outstanding this year’s students really are.”

Du Yu: !!!

After closing the door for Yang Qingqing, he hopped into the passenger seat, quickly pulling out his phone.

Yang Qingqing noticed Du Yu’s little move, but didn’t call him out—instead, she casually asked, ”How did it feel, being on the battlefield recently?”

Du Yu was texting Li Mengnan as he replied, ”Honestly, I feel a bit embarrassed. Senior Brother Fu took such good care of me.

Most of the Celestial-level Monster Beasts were dealt with by him and Qing Yi; I was just there picking up the rewards.”

Yang Qingqing: ”With your current level, forcing yourself down to the 3rd to 5th floor of the Bottomless Pit, of course he had to help you. So, how’s your Shadow Gu Tower doing?”

Du Yu: ”Really powerful! Not only can Shadow Gu Tower kill enemies, it also assists with my cultivation. While it’s refining Demon Souls to nourish itself, it also refines a ton of Demon Breath.

Before we left the battlefield, Senior Brother Fu even gave me the souls of 10 Celestial-level Monster Beasts.

Right now, Shadow Gu Tower is refining the last Demon Soul, and my body is still full of pure Demon Breath.

Both me and my Demon Pet have benefited a ton.”

Hearing Du Yu’s words, Lin Shiwei, who was driving, couldn’t help but secretly click her tongue.

No wonder, these days, Du Yu kept rejecting the Celestial Materials and Earthly Treasures his family offered. With an ’external hack’ like that inside Prince Du, does he even need any other Cultivation Materials?

Su Ming’an had always looked out for Du Yu; with his daughter getting a set of Cultivation Materials, of course Du Yu would get some too.

But Du Yu kept politely refusing, so Su Ming’an couldn’t push too hard. In the end, all he could do was focus on Du Yu’s Demon Pet—which is why the two jars of Top-grade Maple Syrup arrived.

Yang Qingqing nodded gently: ”Such a fortuitous opportunity is rare in the world. You should cherish it.”

”Yes!”

”Shadow Gu Tower, one soul a day?”

Du Yu turned to look at Master Qing: ”Just about. Back then, on the battlefield, I could refine two a day. Now the speed’s a bit slower—Shadow Gu Tower’s found its rhythm.”

Yang Qingqing: ”Since the tower’s almost cleared out of Demon Souls, over the next few days, I’ll take you to absorb more.

If it’s a true Spirit Level Demon Soul, how many can Shadow Gu Tower absorb?”

Du Yu paused, asked Shadow Gu Tower, then replied: ”Just one. And ideally, it should be one that just advanced—a newborn. Shadow Gu Tower’s nowhere near its normal strength.”

”Hmm.” Yang Qingqing glanced at the phone in Du Yu’s hand. Du Yu looked embarrassed; when he straightened up, he quietly slid the phone back.

”I heard, you advised Sword Province to make a Contract with a Pear Blossom Fox?”

”Yes, Master Qing,” Du Yu smiled. ”It really was fate. I ran into a newborn Pear Blossom Fox in the Bottomless Pit—if Qing Yi hadn’t noticed sooner, that little guy would’ve been done for.”

Yang Qingqing continued: ”I also heard you found a Dust Spirit Deer for Xiaowei?”

”Ah...” Du Yu stuttered, lowering the phone, ”That was also fate. Last time we took Xiaobai home to visit family, it was the Dust Spirit Deer that carried Shiwei.”

After a short wait, with Master Qing silent, Du Yu went back to fiddling with his phone.

”Ding-ling~ Ling~”

With the sweet sound of a bell, Du Yu’s phone suddenly slipped from his hand!

Like a marble, it first bounced off the side of the driver’s seat, hovered briefly in the air, then landed neatly in Yang Qingqing’s delicate hand.

Lin Shiwei and Du Yu were both dumbfounded!

If Lin Shiwei weren’t driving, she might have looked back, but Du Yu quickly twisted around, only to see Yang Qingqing looking at the texts on his phone.

For a moment, Du Yu’s face went bright red. He totally forgot about Master Qing’s jaw-dropping move just now.

Yang Qingqing had a soft smile as she locked the screen and set the phone aside: ”The ranking tournament’s an elimination. Making it to the final day is already outstanding. Whatever you say now will just put more pressure on her.”

”Mm... yes.” Du Yu stared at the phone on the back seat, but didn’t dare reach for it.

Lin Shiwei: ”Auntie, what was that just now?”

Yang Qingqing traced the Bell Bracelet on her wrist, gently rubbing it: ”I wanted the result of advancement, but the advancement process itself helped the Bell Bracelet immensely.”

Du Yu brightened: ”Congrats on reaching Demon Taming General, Master Qing!”

Last time, when Yang Qingqing failed to advance, Du Yu had let slip his congratulations—ever since, he hadn’t dared to ask about her recent Cultivation results.

”Ding-ling~ Ling~”

Yang Qingqing shook her wrist, and the brim of Du Yu’s baseball cap lifted slightly, fully revealing his eyes.

”And thank you for your reminder.”

”Me?”

Yang Qingqing didn’t answer, just looked quietly at Du Yu for a long time, then reached out and gently pressed down his cap’s brim.

It was Du Yu and Shadow Gu Tower that helped her awaken the bracelet and convinced it to return to the world.

He told her how to bring the bracelet back to life—by tempering the Spiritual Artifact with a large amount of Demon Breath. What moment could be richer in Demon Breath than the advancement process?

He also told her to receive the Divine Tree’s gift beneath the Twin Trees.

Every step was indispensable.

In fact, the Divine Tree’s help wasn’t just that single fruit it gave her.

Maybe the Twin Trees and Bell Bracelet are old friends, or perhaps the Divine Tree wanted to see Spiritual Artifacts rise again in a new way.

This time, when Yang Qingqing advanced beneath the tree, the peace and ease she felt, and the eventual huge reward, were nothing an ordinary Demon Tamer of her level could imagine.

And the Bell Bracelet’s special qualities delighted her even more.

She’d thought it was just an ornament—something to call upon only in emergencies.

But once fully awakened, the Bell Bracelet—after persuasion from Shadow Gu Tower and the Twin Trees—finally changed its mind.

It told her that it had grown rusty, and only by using and polishing itself often could it regain its peak quickly...

Seeing Master Qing stay silent, Du Yu hesitated a long while before finally saying, ”Master Qing?”

Yang Qingqing snapped out of it, tapped the brim of Du Yu’s hat: ”Forgot to tell you, your Xiaobai’s already at the Peak of Earth Level.”

”Huh? That fast?”

Yang Qingqing: ”And it’s about to hit the Heavenly Level soon. My advancement to Demon Taming General helped a lot.”

Du Yu stared, jaw dropped. This... a substitute trainer?